2016 Education

2016 EDUCATION MAGAZINE

LINCOLN DAILY

NEWS.COM

March 1, 2016 Page 29

Poelker said these students bring

their families to a small get-

together, where the students can

share what they’ve learned. The

ceremony is offered at different

times throughout the school year

so a student can immediately

take their new skills into the

working world.

Poelker said the success of

the program has led to parents

calling the school frequently to

ask about it. “We have

ten or twelve students on a

waiting list,” he said. “Some

of the credit recovery students

are waiting for it,” he added,

referring to another of the

school’s alternative education

programs.

Credit Recovery

The credit recovery program at

LCHS is run by teacher Janet

Lovdahl; Lovdahl also works

with students in the alternative

diploma program. According to

Lovdahl, the program is offered

for students who have fallen

behind on earning academic

credit. The program is funded

by a Truants Alternative and

Optional Education Program

(TAOEP) grant from the

state. According to Bagby, the

program was started around five

years ago.

Students in this program

complete their work in a

computer lab, as like the

alternative education students,

much of their coursework

is completed online. These

students attend their regular

classes before lunch, and then

spend the afternoon in an

extended study hall.

The credit recovery program is

an option for students failing

a class, but that is not the only

reason why the school offers

the option. Lovdahl said that

while there are fifth-year seniors

and truants who go through the

program, there are other reasons

why students are placed in it.

“It’s not always because of

failure,” said Lovdahl. As an

example, Lovdahl said that a

student who faces a long illness

or a surgery can find themselves

out of school for the better part

of a semester.

“If you have a student who

needs surgery, they could be

out for weeks,” said Lovdahl.

As a result, students who

find themselves in medical

emergencies can use the credit

recovery program to keep up

with their class.

“There are about thirty students

who graduate every year who

wouldn’t have graduated on time

otherwise,” said Lovdahl. “This

program helps them to graduate

with their class.”

These two programs are offered

to students enrolled at LCHS

who are struggling for one

reason or another with the

typical means of education.

LCHS is now offering a third

opportunity; this time for

those who are new to LCHS

altogether.

Freshman Academy

The freshman academy program

is new to LCHS. It was

implemented this year, and is

run by teacher Michelle Hobbs.

This program is used to assist

incoming freshmen who need

help transitioning to high school.

“Our goal is that they will all

be sophomores,” said Hobbs.

“We will make sure they pass as

freshman.” Poelker added that

the program was started because

they saw a need for something

like it. “There were kids coming

in behind, and they need the

attention,” said Poelker.

According to Hobbs, these

students may need help because

of academic reasons. Hobbs

said that for some of the

students, attendance was an

issue in eighth grade. While

that may have been an issue

then, Hobbs said this year has

seen few problems in terms of

students being present in class.

“Our attendance for this has

worked out great so far,” said

Hobbs.

Currently, there are fifteen

students enrolled in the

Freshman Academy, which is

their maximum capacity. Hobbs

said it could be larger, but there

are space limitations to consider.

“We could double it if we had

more space and staff,” said

Poelker.

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